Folding cot.



I, s. PURCELL. FOLDING COT.

APPLICATION FILED OCT- T. 1916.

1,285,790. Patented Nov. 26, 1918.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

WITNESSES: IN VEN R,

.A BY I I. s. PURCELL.

FOLDING COT.

APPLICATION FILED 00127. I916.

Patented Nov. 26, 1918.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2- WITNESSES:

A TTORNEY l. S. PURCELL.

FOLDING COT.

APPLICATION man OCT-1. 1916. S 1,285,? 90. Patented Nov. 26,1918.

a SHEETS-SHEET a.

JNVENTOR: WITNESSES. 56701 J- 7 w ce// A UNITED STATES rarer no.

ISAAC s. PURCELL, or CHICAGO, I LINoIs, AS-SIGNOR To TENTOBED COMPANY, or

CHICAGO, ILLINoIs, A CORPORATION or ILLINOIS.

FOLDING Cor.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 2c, 1918.

Application filed October 7, 1916. Serial No. 124,215.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ISAAC S. PURCELL, citizen of the United States, residing at Oak Park, Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Folding Cots; I

and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

; My invention relates-to folding cots, and

its general objects include the providing of a cot whichmay readily be compacted into a quite small space for storage or carrying,

which may be divided into two or three portions for separate transportation, which will permit of an easy and effective adjustment of the tension of the fabric, which can be easily folded either wholly or in part, which will be unusually strong and rigid when erected, and which will require no tools either for its complete assembling or erection or for the tensioning or adjusting of the fabric.

While cots have long been used in types in are too bulky even for storage in the closets *of apartments where a cot may be desired for accommodating a guest. In my present invention I have aimed to produce a cot which might be economically built with a frame composed chiefly either of metal or of wood, and which would be unusually firm when unfolded, but which would not require tools either for erecting it or for compacting it. Another object has been that of producing a foldable cot which could readily be separated into several parts, so that each part could be carried on a separate motorcycle, or stored separately.

Still other objects will appear from the following specification and from theaccom- .panying drawings, in which Figure .1 isaplan-vieWof a .cot embodying my invention and having a metal frame, a portion of the canvas or fabric being cut away to show the intermediary stiffener and the bracing for the'same.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the cot of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged similar to theright hand portion of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a similarly enlarged view of the left hand portion of Fig. 2.

. Fig. 5 is an enlarged view of the upper right hand portion of Fig. 1, partl in sec- Fig; 6 is a perspective view of one of the intermediate legs and of a portion of the intermediate spreader. i

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the lower end of one of the legs.

. Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a portion of the detachable end rail and of the fabric attached to the same.

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary view showing the cot partly folded after the spreader has been detached.

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary vertical transverse section through the cot, showing the connection and bracing of the spreader to the intermediate legs.

Fig. 11 is a diagrammatic view showing the arrangement of the cot parts when the cot is erected, but with the fabric still detached from the foot of the cot.

I F ig. 12 shows the ends of the interlocking side rail and foot rail portions of a cot embodylng my invention and in WlllCll the ralls are made of wood.

Flg. 13 is a fragmentary view showing an end of a steel foot rail adapted to adjust the canvas by one-half rotations.

' While the component parts of the cot of my invention may be constructed with substantially equal facility of various materials, there are advantages in using anglesectloned steel (or s0-called angle iron) for most of the frame portions and in using a heavy canvas for the bed fabric, hence my illustrating chiefly a construction embodying these materials. For example, in Figs. 1 to 7 inclusive, the main frame of the cot consists of a head rail 1 of a doublewebbed angle iron (or channel iron) connected at one end by an elbow hinge 2 and at its other end by an offset elbow hinge 3 to the two'side rails, each of the latter rails comprising a long portion, 4 secured to the fragmentary section,

adjacent elbow hinge and a shorter end portion 5 connected to the portion 1 by a hinge 7. Qpanning the free ends or tips of the portions 5 of these side rails and slidably interlocked with the said tips is a foot rail, which is desirably made of a strip of channel steel 6 housing a wooden filler block 9, and which has elements cooperating with parts of the side rail portions 5 to limit the sliding of the foot rail on the side rail. For example, the back of the channel steel may be continued beyond the side webs and bent over (as in Fig. 8) to form a chamber 8 between the bent over tip and the end of the wooden tiller 9, into which chamber the tip of the rail portion 5 will slide and in which the latter will abut against the back of the channel steel. Or, the extreme tip of the foot rail may be bent up from one side web of the channel, leaving the said chamber 8 open at both ends as in Fig. 12 in which case projections 9' on the side rail portion 5 will limit the sliding of the foot rail upon the side rails. 01', both such projections and the abutting of the portion 5 against the channel web may be used, as in Fig. 1.

For the bed bottom of the cot, I preferably use a flexible fabric of a kind that will readily permit of rolling the same, as for example a canvas 10. This may be secured at the head of the cot to a filler rod 11 of wood around which the end of the canvas is wrapped and which is held within the channel of the head rail 1 by rivets. The other end of the cot desirably is likewise fastened to the wood filler 7 and partly wrapped around the latter. In erecting the cot, the frame is set up and the canvas (which is continuously attached to the head rail) is then swung over the top of the cot while the short foot section of the frame is raised somewhat, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. Then the foot rail (which is fastened to the free end of the canvas) is rotated so as to wind enough of the canvas on it to leave room for slipping the ends of the foot rail into their interlocking engagement with the side rail portions 5. Then upon depressing the last named portions to bring them into their normal alinement with the rail portions 41-, the canvas is drawn u taut, after which the said side rail portlons may be kept in alinement by hooks 12 and 13 pivoted respectively to these rail portions and engaging pins on legs 14, each of which legs is pivoted to the rail portion 4 at or near the juncture of the latter with the portion 5.

The head legs 15, which are pivoted to the side rail portions 4, are likewise locked in rigid positions by braces 16 and 17 extending respectively to the said portions 4: and to the head rail 1 each of said braces being pivoted at one end and having a manually detachable hook at its other end engaging a suitably disposed pin. Then, to keep the intermediate legs 14: from spreading apart, I preferably connect them by a spreader 18 disposed at a considerable distance below the side rails (so as to clear the canvas when this sags under the weight of one or more persons on the cot), this spreader being likewise locked in position by braces 19 connecting the spreader and the legs 14:, the braces 19 being each pivoted at one end and equipped with hooks at their other ends. For cheap and eflective construction, I preferably make the spreader 18 of angle steel as shown in Figs. 6 and 10 and equip it at each end with a slotted hook formation formed by slotting the longer, turned over, end 20 of the angle steel. To prevent a tipping of the cot by downward pressure on its foot end (as for example, by having some one seat himself on this end) I preferably provide an auxiliary pair of legs 21 pivoted to the side rail portions 5 by pivots placed at one side of the channel steel constituting such legs, so that the upper end of the legs will abut against the horizontal web of the rail portion 5 when the leg is swung out (as in Fig. 2) to limit the pulling out of this leg.

While the different parts of my cot may be variously proportioned, I preferably make the main side rail portions 4 somewhat shorter than the head rail 1, so that both of these side rail portions (together with the portions 5 folded back upon them) may be swung close to the head rail, as indicated in Fig. 9, in doing which the offsetting of the elbow hinge 3 permits one side rail to nest between the other side rail and the head rail. Thus, in disassembling the cot, the braces holding the side rails rigid with respect to the intermediate legs are unlatched and folded close to the members upon which they are pivoted, and the foot end portion of the cot is swung up. This permits the foot rail to be detached from the side rails and swung clear over the head of the bed, getting the canvas or fabric off the frame of the cot, after which the stiffener or spreader 18 is unhooked from. the intermediate legs. Then, after also unlatching the braces connecting the legs. at the head of the cotwith adjacent frame elements, the frame may be folded as indicated in Fig. 7, leaving the foot rail attached to the fabric and the spreader 18 entirely separate. After this, the spreader 18 may be laid alongside the folded frame and the latter may easily be rolled up in the fabric, leaving the latter to form a housing for the metal parts.

Or, if the cot is to be carried on a motorcycle or in canoes, one side rail and the legs and braces connected thereto may be detached from the rest of the frame by removing the bolt 21 of Fig. 9. Then this detached part, together with the spreader 18 may be carried separately from the balance of the cot and may desirably be rolled up with the tent if one is used in connection with the cot, as for example with the tent of my Patent No. 1,255,224, granted to me February 8, 1918.

However, while I have illustrated and described a desirable embodiment of my invention, I do not wish to be limited to the various details of the construction and arrangement as here disclosed, since the same might be modified in many ways without departing from the spirit of my invention. For example, it will be evident that wooden rails might be used in place of the angle steel side rails, and likewise in place of both the channel steel end rails and the wood fillers associated with the latter. event, the wooden side and end railportions at the foot of the cot may be suitably interlocked by using castings on some of them, as for example the forked casting of Fig. 12. In either case, it will be obvious that a partial rotation of the foot rail before interlocking it with the side rails will either loosen or tighten the bed fabric, thus readily permitting the latter to be adjusted to a desirable tension. The angle steel legs of my cot are each equipped with a foot 22 formed from one flange of the leg. Moreover, it should be understood that the various novel In that features of my invention may be employed either singly or in any desired combinations.

I claim as my invention:

1. A folding cot comprising a head rail, side rails each including a head section hinged to the head rail and folding thereupon and a foot section hinged to the head section and folding thereupon, a foot rail detachably secured to the foot sections of the side rail, and supporting legs hinged to and foldable upon the head and foot sections of the side rails respectively.

2. A folding cot comprising a head rail, side rails each including a head section hinged to the head rail and folding thereupon and a foot section hinged to the head section and folding thereupon, the hinge axis between the head rail and head section being at right angles to the hinge axis between the head and foot sections of the side rails, a foot rail detachably secured to the foot sections of the side rails, and supporting legs hinged to and foldable upon the head and foot sections of the side rails respectively.

Signed at Chicago, Illinois, October 3rd, 1916.

ISAAC S. PURCELL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

